Comparing the NBA eras is tricky business

Dominique Wilkins, among others, is a player that the stars of today's era looked up to while they were growing up. ( Billy Smith II / Houston Chronicle )

The comparisons don’t just end the conversations, they ruin them. Which, on a weekend built to celebrate it, wastes the chance to embrace the moment like bringing a photo album on vacation.

With the current pack of stars excelling to a degree that conversations of their place in league history already have started, perhaps that is a statement in itself. Yet, just as trying to measure the most recent U.S. Olympic team to the Dream Team unnecessarily marginalized last summer’s success, the shadow cast by the NBA’s “Golden Age” (as Clyde Drexler put it) could distract from the start of another.

A rare and special time
With LeBron James doing things that have never been done — though few gave thought to the previous record for consecutive 30-point games while shooting at least 60 percent — the generation of stars on display at Toyota Center on Sunday has at least begun to define an era of its own as something rare and special.

“I do believe our era will go down as one of the greatest to ever play,” James said. “I just look at my draft class. Right off the top of my head is me, DWade (Dwyane Wade), Chris (Bosh), Melo (Carmelo Anthony). Here today, we’re four of the best players we have in our league today.

“It’s going to be good to see where they place us after we’re done with the game. Hopefully, we can make enough impact we can be remembered.”

As with Michael Jordan and his generation, this generation starts with James. And as with Jordan, that begins with rare talent but is driven by boundless ambition.

“I want to be great,” James said. “I want to be the greatest of all time. I try to do whatever it takes to get me in that position.”

He wants to make history. But this weekend also reminds — given the celebration of Jordan’s 50th birthday and his legacy — that to many who embraced Jordan, no one and no subsequent era will ever measure up.

Yet in many ways, the depth of greatness, or potential greatness, is reminiscent of sublime previous eras.

Kevin Durant, in his fifth season, or Chris Paul in his seventh, can’t have the career accomplishments of Dominique Wilkins or John Stockton. But neither could Wilkins or Stockton barely a third of the way into their careers.

“There are guys who are standard bearers of what basketball is about — LeBron, Kobe (Bryant), Carmelo, Durant, Wade,” Wilkins said. “Those guys have put their imprint on this sport and elevated it.

“That era in the ’80s, there were so many great players. Every team had at least one great player. That age of basketball is hard to duplicate. I’m a guy who doesn’t like comparisons. That era was a monster. L.A. had four, five Hall of Famers on one team. Boston, five Hall of Famers. Detroit, three or four Hall of Famers. That era was nuts.

“The way these guys are playing now, people are starting to get that appreciation back. They’re seeing what Carmelo is doing. They’re seeing what Durant is doing. LeBron has exploded. That appreciation has come back. Those guys have lifted it to another level.”

A star position
Wilkins said the small forwards — led by James, Durant and Anthony — measure up to his era. Hearing this, Durant described the footsteps he can follow.

“It’s surreal to me,” Durant said. “Growing up, you always hear about Dr. J, Dominique Wilkins, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler. For those guys to know your name and admire how you play means a lot. All I can do is come out, keep continuing to work hard. Hopefully I go down as one of the best with those guys.

“You have so many great ones. Melo and LeBron, Paul George, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay. You have so many great small forwards that can do it all. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of names. I think we can go down as one of the best groups, our era. Everybody respects what those guys before us did and admires what they did. I think that’s what drives us now. It’s great to be part of it.

“That’s just one position. If you throw in the point guards, shooting guards, power forwards and center, this is one of the best eras of basketball right now. I’m glad I’m a part of it. When we leave the game, hopefully it’s better for the guys that come after us. That’s what we’re here for, to make the game better, make the game more competitive and have fun with it. I’m glad I’m a part of it.”

The legacies of Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan can still grow but are well established. The NBA’s 20-something stars are, at least in terms of legacy, about potential. There have been signs of what is possible.

Athleticism better now
“Every 10 years, there’s a metamorphosis and the talent gets better,” said Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy. “When you look at the talent today, when you look at LeBron James, who is taking his whole thing to a new level, you compare him to his predecessor, Jordan. Is he better than Jordan at the same time in Jordan’s career? Right now, it’s a coin toss.

“You talk about my era, we’re talking some select players. If I can relinquish and say the players today are better, there’s something to it. The players of today are much better than what we were.

“We might know more basketball, but their athleticism and the way they play the game far exceed what we ever did.”

‘In good hands’
How they eventually will measure up to their predecessors can’t be determined yet. For now, it is enough to consider what is possible.

“It’s an impossible question to answer,” said Duncan, who, along with Bryant and Garnett, bridges eras before and after Hall-of-Fame-bound careers. “It’s a story to be written. It’s not to be answered at this point.

“There are some incredible, talented guys, with Kobe and those guys going out and the great Kevin Durants and Blake Griffins, their story isn’t written yet. There’s much to be seen and written from here on. There’s no way to predict what is to be, but I definitely know the league is in good hands.”

Photo: Cody Duty / Chronicle

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Former Rocket Sam Cassell smiles as he taunts an opponent during Saturday's game at Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus.

Former Rocket Sam Cassell smiles as he taunts an opponent during Saturday's game at Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus.

Photo: Cody Duty / Chronicle

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Sam Cassell, center, smiles after he stole the ball from former Rocket Vernon Maxwell, left, during Saturday's action.

Sam Cassell, center, smiles after he stole the ball from former Rocket Vernon Maxwell, left, during Saturday's action.

Photo: Cody Duty / Chronicle

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Jerome Williams, left, blocks a shot from John Wallace.

Jerome Williams, left, blocks a shot from John Wallace.

Photo: Cody Duty / Chronicle

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Former Rocket Cuttino Mobley goes up for a shot against Christian Laettner.

Former Rocket Cuttino Mobley goes up for a shot against Christian Laettner.